I would totally get "is" tattooed on me.

Allyson, K is not feeling great (and frankly neither is Mr. Man) so she's gonna stay home with Noah tonight.

I'm reading the preview of the NYT Magazine for next week. The big article is on the division of labor in families, particularly looking at families that do a more equal division.

It's sort of freaking me out.

I know the Kool-Aid phrase came from the Jonestown suicides, but as with most things, I do believe it's been softened over the intervening time. It now means something closer to having been swayed by an appealing idea or someone's personality, you'll follow their example.

Yeah, I hated being told I drank the Kool-Aid not because of the original context, but because I resent any implication that I'm some kind of idiot who's been swayed by powerful oratory and who didn't use my brain in deciding to vote for Obama. My own mother thinks people supporting Obama are just too young and inexperienced to realize that a president really doesn't have the power to accomplish that much. Me: "Mom, I'm 37! What do you want to do, raise the voting age to 40?" Her: "I wasn't talking about YOU."

So, apparently the not getting up thing I've experienced on subways here extends to the theater. My sister got tickets to Hairspray for last night and the women at the end of the row didn't get up to let us by to our seats. And by no stretch of the imagination was there room to get by--even for my skinny 10-year old niece! The most hilarious part was that they looked very perplexed that we were bumping into them. Also, people now eat at the theater. WTF??

ION, Hairspray is very fun.

I would love to be "is," actually.

I did hear, at the beginning of the only debate I ever listened to, both Clinton and Obama in their opening speeches say, "I believe I'm the strongest candidate and the one who will make the best President, but my opponent is also great and if I don't make it to November I expect my supporters to throw all their strength behind him/her." That was spectacular, and made my heart flutter for both of them.

I know! The beginning of the primary race was so friendly and supportive and happy-making! Which is why it was SO disappointing when it turned ugly. Because it didn't have to be that way.

Bah. A few minutes ago I almost got hit by a truck. The guy was at a red light trying to make a right turn while I was crossing the street. He started pulling forward and I jumped/ran out of the way as he hit the brakes.

Scary--take care of yourself out there, tommyrot!

That driver is lucky you're not one of the undercover pedestrian cops who are doing stings to catch just that kind of driver. They nailed over 100 people last weekend (I think it was) even though they had announced in the media where exactly they were going to have the sting set up.

for lunch today - leftovers from dinner last night here: [link]

asparagus, scallops and mango-apple chutney. No mashed potatoes because I ate them all last night. nom.

and now I will exercise and pretend that I stuck to my diet.

Steph, without being able to click your clickity links, how long is the story going to be? That's cool and crazy.

Around 2,050 words.

Teppy, that's not only amazingly cool, you've managed to make me seriously think--for a moment, anyway--about actually getting a tattoo. Still not doing it because of the needles and the phobia, but that is incredibly cool.

But what if you volunteer and find out that you're "is" or "of"?

People are allowed to decline if they don't like the word they're given, but it sounds like they can't sign up again in an attempt to get a "better" word. They also can't request a specific word.

But what if you volunteer and find out that you're "is" or "of"?

What if you're a comma, and you should have been a semicolon?

Some people get punctuation with their words, but no one gets *only* a punctuation mark.

Steph, also - do they get to choose where (on their body) their tattoo is? (I'm picturing someone with "is:" in the middle of their forehead.)

Oh hey, the author lives right near me! I was just on her street this morning (taking D to the doctor).

[edit: Toddson, here's what she says about placement:]

You are free to choose the site of your tattoo, except in the case of words naming specific body parts. These may be anywhere but the parts named, e.g. the word “hand” may be tattooed on your foot, stomach, shoulder blade, etc. but not on your hand. This stipulation does not apply to the word “skin” or any of its synonyms, for obvious reasons. The tattoo need not be in a place that is commonly visible (under your hair would be acceptable, for example) but must remain so long enough to be documented in a photograph.

The tattoo may be any size, so long as it can be read with the naked eye.

Tattoos must be in black ink and a classic book font. Words in fanciful fonts will be expunged from the work. No script, italics, German blackletter, etc; no decorations or embellishments of any kind.